UTAH ARTIST MAKES HISTORY WITH RECORD 10th AWARD of EXCELLENCE

 

 

STUART, Florida – October 13, 2026 – Utah artist Carel Brest van Kempen’s painting “Vertical Displacement or Bye-Bye American Pika” received a Society of Animal Artists Award of Excellence last Saturday at the awards ceremony for the 66th Annual “Art and the Animal” exhibition, the Society of Animal Artists’ flagship show, held this year at the Elliott Museum in Stuart, FL. The Award of Excellence is the Society of Animal Artists’ highest honor, and is considered the world’s top annual award given specifically for animal art. The Society of Animal Artists (SAA) confers master status upon artists who have received five Awards of Excellence. With this latest award, his 10th, Brest van Kempen becomes the first person to have doubled that milestone, surpassing several legendary artists: Robert Bateman and Leo Osborne, both with nine, Guy Coheleach and Carl Brenders with eight, and the late Chris Bacon with seven.

The painting was also the inaugural recipient of the SAA’s Diane D. Mason Award for Outstanding Creative Concept, named for the sculptor and former SAA president. At last year’s Art and the Animal exhibition, Brest van Kempen was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Art and the Animal exhibition continues at the Elliott Museum through Jan. 13, 2027.

About the Society of Animal Artists
The Society of Animal Artists was established in New York City in 1960 by Patricia Allen Bott and Guido Borghi, with the mission of promoting excellence in the artistic portrayal of the creatures sharing our planet and to the education of the public through art exhibitions, informative seminars, lectures, and teaching demonstrations.

About Carel Brest van Kempen
Carel Brest van Kempen is a native Utahn, who is known for his detailed acrylic paintings of underrepresented animal life. Much of his work has a surrealistic take, but is rooted firmly in the reality of nature. His paintings have been exhibited on six continents, and his one-man show, curated by David J. Wagner PhD, toured museums in the US for sixteen years. 

He has illustrated numerous books and authored the text for the book “Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding:The Art of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen.” He is currently working on a comprehensive field guide to the birds of Utah. He was elected to membership in the SAA in 1994.